مقاله انگلیسی رایگان در مورد عملکرد پایداری تعاونی های کشاورزی – الزویر 2019

Agricultural cooperatives competitive context is being defined by sustainable development paradigm, which are forcing them to assess their performance considering sustainability requirements. There are few empirical studies that provide data to assess sustainable performance of agricultural cooperatives’ operations. This study contributes to the theory of sustainable operations by providing a model for sustainability performance assessment that is applied to agricultural cooperatives. The objective of the research is to assess the adherence of a set sustainability performance indicators to form an assessment model to agricultural cooperatives’ operations, which is named ‘Sustainability Assessment for Agriculture Cooperatives e SAAC’. Empirical data is collected from five case studies, whose analysis reveals the level of adherence of the studied organizations to SAAC criteria. The assessment process proved to be feasible, useful, and easy to comprehend and use. SAAC model could be extended to create the foundation of a sustainability management system for agricultural cooperatives, helping them to effectively contribute to a sustainable development.

Introduction

The increasing demand for differentiation, modernization and resource efficiency has led to the integration of operations’ systems and technology, leading to the achievement of high standards of performance in quality and productivity, and the emergence of a mass customization production model. Hu (2013) and Manfrina et al. (2013) consider that this has undoubtedly resulted in the development and growth of mankind in the last century, but together with this growth there is a concern about natural resources and how long they will last. Delai and Takahashi (2011) observe that development in its broad definition, is intrinsically related to cultural, political, economic, social, and even individual aspects with the ultimate purposed of improving the quality of life. Accordingly, Krajnc and Glavic (2005) sustainable development definition proclaimed in the Brundtland Report in 1987 is that on who “meets the needs of the present without affecting the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”, as it creates a perspective that it is necessary to develop and maintain available sources of wealth creation. Furthermore, Abarghani et al. (2013) emphasize that the infrastructure to achieve sustainability and social justice is intrinsically linked to the development of collaboration and cooperation, in which collective rights prevail over individual rights. In this sense, Benos et al. (2016) consider that cooperatives generally meet sustainability insofar as a community of people voluntarily united, having an organizational design based on democracy and collaboration to develop economically in an equitable way and guarantee the social well-being of the cooperative members and the community.